back to seemyroots My trip to Prague in the Czech Republic
I decided to go to Prague in the fall of 2004 because I heard it was one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. There are many that believe that it equals Paris. This may be true in its architecture. However, I think that culture would be another story. It is not that the placed lacked culture. It is just that it has a different, more reserved, culture. (Original Itinerary).

The country was once under Soviet control. During this period it was know as Czechoslovakia. Soon after the country broke away from the USSR it split into two countries; the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

( FYI - For Your Information ) Throughout the text below there will be a number of labels such as "Pictures of the ...". You can click on these labels, which will then display the first of a series of pictures. Once you go to a picture page you will see "Previous ____ Back to Main ____ Next" at the top of each picture. By clicking one of these you will be able to move through the pictures.

The Weather:
Prague is in fact a very beautiful city and I would suggest the best time to visit would be in a warm month, which has plenty of sunshine and blue skies. I decide to go in mid-October. This was only a bit of a mistake. The first few days were filled with gray skies and a bit more than a slight drop in temperature. However, the low temperatures and the rain only lasted until I finally found my luck. On Monday Afternoon the clouds parted and the blue sky opened bringing a very much-appreciated sun with it. The second week there was filled with t-shirt temperature days and warm fall evenings. I must say that the beauty of such a city was quickly lost in cold temperatures and gray skies. However, it helped to fully appreciate the number of taverns, bars and restaurants all serving great food and very tasty beer.
Pictures of the Old Town Section

The beverage of choice:
The only thing that I truly know about the Czech Republic is that truly love their beer. There does not seem to be a minimum age or even a particular time of day where it would be socially acceptable. The best thing about the beer, besides the taste, is that it is very cheap. A good meal with four or five beer might cost about 200 crowns (about $10.00 Canadian). People seemed to think it strange when I order a coke or coffee to go along with a meal. My God! It was breakfast.

Getting Around:
The number of Czechs that spoke English ranged around 15% of the population. This was actually pretty good. There was not much of a problem ordering or getting around. The best way around the city was by tram. A very beautiful young lady had mentioned that she thought that the trams must never get in accidents since they moved so slow and stopped on a dime. The next day the tram I was on stopped on a BMW (very slowly). Unfortunately, it was on a main artery, stopping the trams in both directions for some 30 minutes.

More pictures of the bridges

While the city looked large on a map I was able to walk a good percentage of it in a half day. The rest of the day was filled with stopping for meals and beer. The parks were great and I enjoyed spending a lot of time there during my last few days. It was great to just kickback, relax and enjoy a good book.

Pictures of the Little Quarter
The local Czech food was not so bad but it had a very strong taste about it. I am not sure of the spices but most of the time I though I would vomit. It is not to say that it tasted bad but rather the mix of ingredients did not settle well. The same thing happened when I went to Italy and everything had a very strong olive oil taste.

Pictures of the Castle
After awhile I had most of my meals in a small Pizzeria (which must have been a Chinese food restaurant at one time by the looks it its décor). The food was great, the waitresses were very nice and the beer was cold. However, one night I decided to actually try an oriental restaurant. Unfortunately, I waited until I was so weak that I could not have walked out once I entered. I never really noticed how bad the place was until after I ordered. So there I was in the most disgustingly dirty pigsty I have ever been in. The combination of events that followed after I had ordered I cannot described since I am now in therapy for it and I have blocked a good deal of what had happened. Needless to say I ate fast. Once I was finished I bolted for the door so fast that the vile old lady had to chase after me to say "Thank you come again" or at least that is what I thought she said. I was moving very fast.

The next day I was walking along a street and I was stopped and asked for direction. It is beyond me how I could be asked such a question given the fact that I could probably only tell a person perhaps three things about Prague. But "Do you know where the Chinese restaurant is?" was one of them. Sucker.

The Parks:
There were a number of parks throughout the city. I would have to say that the parks seemed much better groomed then I am use to at home. Now most of the parks were full of people and their dogs. The dogs were very well trained and never went near anybody but that particular dog's owner.

I actually spent a lot of time in the parks. Once the weather changed it was warm enough for a t-shirt, a park bench and a good book. I wish I had taken a good book. I did read several books including a series of short stories by Rudyard Kipling. Most of the stories were center around parts of India. They were interesting but a little dark and depressing. They probably captured the time and culture well. I also read a novel by a Canadian author that my sister-in-law bought for $5.00 out of the discount bin about soldiers returning from WWI. Finally, I read the worst sci-fi book I think ever. It may have been the basis for the Matrix. It dealt with the same type of ideas but the writer blabbed on forever about the smallest of details. I skipped three chapters close to the end and glossed over the last chapter. I don't think I missed much (I am not a big sci-fi fan but the book was at the hostel under "leave a book - take a book"). I don't know how much he paid for the reviews but apparently the quality of a book goes down as the number of reviews goes up. There must have been fifteen reviews (somebody was telling a lie).

Pictures from the parks
More pictures from the parks
The Tower:
There is a tower in Prague that is a mini Eiffel Tower. It is 266 steps to the top. Since I hate heights the only option available was to go to the top. When the last thing that you want to do is look outside, to see how high you are, 266 steps seems like a lot more. Once at the top the view was well worth the work it took to get there. I was able to take a number of pictures from the top. However, I had to point the camera to the ground with one hand, blindly, since I could not look straight down.

Pictures from the tower The Subway:
The only other time, on this trip, that I had trouble with heights was going up and down a very large escalator, which led to the subway system. The escalator was on about a 60-degree slant. You had to lean forward the whole time as you moved about four stories. The thing was so long you could not see the top from the bottom. The wind that blew up from the train tunnel only made the trip that much more uncomfortable.


My Accommodations:
I stayed at the cheapest place that I could find. It was an apartment owned by a local hostel. The apartment had three rooms and I had the place to myself about 50% of my stay. The place was okay. I think that with a little elbow grease it would have been much better. The place needed closets or at least a place to hang clothes. It also needed more then one mirror (which was not even in the washroom).

Besides the smaller things the people that rented the place did not mention it was on the 7th floor. It could have been the 8th floor. I always lost count at some point. There was only stairs (no elevator).

Last but not least. I was never able to adjust to the time in Prague. My body stayed on the time at home, which was 5 or 6 hours in the difference. I would never fall asleep until about 5am in the morning and I got up about 11am each day. It was okay to wake up late since I could have beer with lunch rather than breakfast.

The Apartment and Other Pictures

My next trip will be to Bora Bora, Belize or Iceland.

Other trips - 1999 Vilnius, Lithuiania \ 2001 Italy
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